A review by helpfulsnowman
Based Upon Availability by Alix Strauss

2.0

I never knew that ladies were so troubled. ALL ladies, apparently.

I'd like to apologize to any ladies that I made feel bad in the past, going back until about high school. I did make fun of girls in elementary school, but I feel that was out of my control. Plus, they weren't ladies yet, therefore they were ripe for parody.

We get, in the mix here, an eating disorder, a sisterly rivalry gone too far, a burnout rockstar, a woman who commits arson, a woman who has a phantom pregnancy, and a woman who is in her mid-50's, stylish, and seems to have her life pretty much together. Oh, and a hotel lady who is dabbling in S&M.

I like a book with unlikable characters, no doubt. I'll read a book about a lady who captures and murders bald eagles for the pure tactile pleasure. But this...I don't know, it felt like a grab bag of lady issues with little stories built around them.

The chronology is tough too. It feels like every woman in this story is at the peak of her life's breakdown at the same time, which is when it starts to feel a little less like a novel and a little more like an M. Knight Shaymamlasaksnfd, uh, god forbid, novel.